 Following the resignation of Republican James Harvey on January 31, 1974, Traxler was elected as a Democrat on April 16, 1974 to fill the vacancy to the 93rd United States Congress in Michigan's 8th congressional district.He was subsequently re-elected to the nine succeeding Congresses, serving from April 23, 1974 until his retirement from Congress on January 3, 1993.Due to congressional redistricting following the 1990 census, the area represented by Traxler mostly became the 5th district.